Steel-free Sinusoidal Joints to Support North Carolina Concrete Airport Pavements

Concrete pavements are critical components of North Carolina’s airports. Owners desire long service lives of these pavements, with only minimal required maintenance or rehabilitation. These pavements must also provide smooth, well-draining surfaces with appropriate surface characteristics and a low incidence of spalling and edge slivers that could become foreign objects or debris (FOD) that could damage aircraft. Effective load transfer across joints in the concrete slabs is imperative to the performance of the pavement when loads traverse the joint as well as to the durability of that joint over time. Airport owners and the public are also becoming increasingly interested in improving the economics and durability of airport infrastructure, seeking design and construction approaches that lower impacts, and extend infrastructure service life. Resilient design approaches that buffer against supply chain issues and provide solutions that support rapid construction and reduce operational disruptions are also of interest to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Many concrete pavements, including those used in airport applications are jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP). JPCP typically include dowel bars placed across transverse joints to provide vertical support and to transfer loads from slab to slab. Tiebars are also used in JPCP, typically along transverse joints, to prevent slabs from separating and to provide load transfer across the joint. These steel components of JPCP are a significant cost to owners and are also associated with significant environmental impacts. An alternative to traditional steel dowels and tie bars capable of ensuring suitable performance of pavement joints is of interest to NCDOT and other stakeholders that own and maintain rigid pavements. A novel joint design that does not include reinforcing steel or dowels was recently constructed at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) at longitudinal joints along Taxiway Mike during a 2019 rehabilitation project. The joint has a sinusoidal shape extending along adjacent vertical faces of the pavement slabs, with the sinusoidal profile mirrored between adjacent slabs. The “sinusoidal joint” design achieves load transfer across the adjacent slabs due to interlock along the sinusoidally-formed plane, rather than via embedded metal dowels or tie bars. This joint was easily constructed by using sinusoidal shaped side forms attached to the slipform paver used for airfield pavement construction. Subsequent evaluation of the joint indicated that the as-constructed sinusoidal joint provided sufficient load transfer, but its performance could be improved through optimized design, fabrication, and installation techniques. Due to the ease of construction and lack of the need for steel, the sinusoidal joint offers a more efficient and economic approach to achieving load transfer in concrete airport pavements, and potentially roadway pavements, across the state. The overall goal of this study is to further investigate the potential for steel-free sinusoidal joints to be used in airfield pavements, providing guidance and recommendations on design, optimization, construction, and evaluation of the sinusoidal joints for use by NCDOT and other stakeholders. Products will include: (1) Guidance and models for sinusoidal joint design in thicker pavements at commercial service airports as well as in thinner pavements more prevalent in the 62 publicly owned general airports across North Carolina. (2) A draft specification that could be used as a project special provision for design and construction of sinusoidal joints at North Carolina airports. (3) Characterization of the performance of sinusoidal joints at CLT, as well as validated numerical models, that could inform the design and deployment of sinusoidal joints at other North Carolina airports. (4) Feasibility analysis of the potential use and benefit of sinusoidal joints in other roadway applications. Development and deployment of steel-free, sinusoidal joints in airfield pavements, and potentially roadway or other pavements, will directly support NCDOT in improving the economy and constructability of their concrete pavement infrastructure. Experimental characterization, numerical analyses, and field performance data collected will support an improved understanding of this novel economical, and low impact joint design, while also ensuring that concrete pavements are safe and durable, with reduced maintenance costs. If sinusoidal joints are a desirable feature in many airport pavements, their use would yield savings (in millions over years) and more optimally utilize state and federal tax dollars allocated for construction and maintenance. Products from this research would be utilized by the NCDOT Division of Aviation, as well as several other units, including the Materials and Tests Unit in conjunction with the Pavement Management Section and the Construction Unit. Although this novel joint is to be studied in an airfield pavement application, the sinusoidal joint could be of interest in highway pavement or other concrete pavements constructed for NCDOT use.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $283,619.00
• Contract Numbers:

  RP2026-13

• Sponsor Organizations:

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  Research and Development
  1549 Mail Service Center
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27699-1549
• Managing Organizations:

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  Research and Development
  1549 Mail Service Center
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27699-1549
• Project Managers:

  Kadibhai, Mustansir

• Performing Organizations:

  University of North Carolina - Charlotte

  9201 University City Blvd
  Charlotte, North Carolina  United States  28223-0001
• Principal Investigators:

  Cavalline, Tara L

• Start Date: 20250801
• Expected Completion Date: 20270731
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: Pavements and Materials

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport runways; Concrete pavements; Feasibility analysis; Pavement design; Pavement joints
• Geographic Terms: North Carolina
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Design; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01957963
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: RP2026-13
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 13 2025 12:32PM